ARABS-ISRAEL - July 15 - Ben-Eliezer Meets Mubarak.

Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer meets Egyptian Pres. Hosni Mubarak in Alexandria. (Ben-Eliezer is the third Israeli politician in recent days to visit Egypt, ahead of the July 16 meeting in New York of Russia, the UN, the US and the EU to discuss the Middle East - see Palestine. Ben-Eliezer followed Israeli Transport Minister Ephraim Sneh and Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg, both of whom have recently met Mubarak's foreign policy adviser Osama Al Baz). After the meeting, Mubarak told the news conference that he disagreed with Israel on the need to remove Arafat. "We say that we have principles. And when we say 'principle' we cannot change that", he said referring to Arafat as "the father of the Palestinians". (Israeli officials made it known ahead of Ben-Eliezer's visit that they would be looking for Mubarak's support in seeking to expel Arafat from the West Bank. But Mubarak and other Arab leaders have insisted on the right of the Palestinians to choose their own leaders). Ben-Eliezer said his talks with Mubarak were fruitful and said if the Palestinians ended the violence of the last 21 months, observers would be "surprised" by the extent of Israel's support.